New Park to Open Soon in Buckingham

The new Henry Wright Park will soon open in the Buckingham neighborhood, now that the County Board has authorized a resubdivision plan and maintenance agreement.

The county has been working with Paradigm Development Company to develop the 2.3 acre public park. The property is known as Buckingham Commons Village I, and a portion purchased by the county for $14.8 million in 2009 will be dedicated as Henry Wright Park (4350 4th Street North), as well as a new county street.

Paradigm Development Company will be responsible for ongoing maintenance at the park, as part of the public/private partnership. The county will maintain the new portions of North 4th Street and North Upton Street once they are dedicated. The measures were finalized by the County Board’s unanimous vote at its meeting on Saturday (July 21).

“Henry Wright Park brings much needed open space to Buckingham Commons Village I,” said Arlington County Board Chair Mary Hynes. “Through a public/private partnership with Paradigm, the county has found a cost effective way to ensure that this beautiful park is well taken care of so that generations of Arlington children have a safe, attractive place to come together, exercise and play.”

The oval park has a fenced in playground for two to 12-year-olds, picnic and game tables, two grassy areas and a sign commemorating the history of the Buckingham Villages Gardens Apartments.

Construction began last fall and is nearly complete. If all goes according to plan, the park will open next month.

Ya dun GUD, NDG!! <:D
Uhoh, I just oinked at my desk. The boss is watching……

DeportEmAll

Hola y caramba!

Elmer

I hope its well policed. That kiddie park in that location sounds like a pervert/molester magnet to me.

Smellmer

Why is it surrounded by Penn State alumni?

Arlington Cat

“Construction began last fall and is nearly complete. If all goes according to plan, the park will open next month.”

So, what you are telling us is by the end of August, childless couples in Arlington will be taking this park over and using it as a dog run? Am I correct on this timeline?

ArlWoman

Having grown up another part of the country, I never took a history class for commonwealth of Virginia. Please tell me who Henry Wright is or I was.

nom de guerre

He designed the original Buckingham Community.

Arlingtonian

Yeah. Henry Wright was a well-known proponent of the Garden City movement. Buckingham was his last project. He died before it was completed.

Thj Arlington County Board voted to permit Paradigm to demolish about a quarter of Wright’s Buckingham. The Board then voted to put Wright’s name on a park that Paradigm developed where Wright’s buildings and trees once stood.

Wright would be so happy about this.

Romero

It interesting to me how much the Buckingham Village (90% hispanic) gets in new development, street paving and new parks when a big chunk of the people are illegals who don’t pay taxes. All the while surrounding neighborhoods don’t get the attention they need. Arlington continues to do things year after year that don’t reflect what the taxpayers want but what the tyrannical ACB wants. Its time for some new blood on the ACB. If your an illegal then the current ACB wants to provide you with projects that benefit you and don’t do a thing for the taxpayer. This is irrational borderline revolution instigating.

OpenWhen?

This park is directly outside my window and has been complete since mid-May. The only thing “nearly complete” is the bureaucracy.

Arlingtonian

The park won’t be complete until the County places in the park its two historical markers that explain in English and Spanish the history of Buckingham and of Henry Wright’s role in the project. The signs are funded, but it will be a long time before you see them. Maybe five years or more.

bob

Is this the patch of turf between the two new mega apartment buildings in Buckingham that sit between Persing & Henderson west of Geo Mason? If so, it gives the appearance of being private green space belonging to the complex, not a county park…

Susanna

This park should be named Paradigm Park as this park is nothing more than a $14 million kickback to Paradigm Development Company for agreeing to allow 256 affordable housing units in the complexes it built on that same plat. ..”If you build these affordable units you can slap together a cheap park and ACB will give you $14 million dollars..” The AСB knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.

Elmer

Agreed.

drax

So the public gets a park and 256 affordable units. Is that a bad deal?

ArlForest

Glad they can find park space in Buckingham but they can’t put in enough parking in the two mid-rises across from Barrett.

chimichanga

The Barrett Elementary school playground is now a mudground. Why dont they upkeep the schools and refrain from overspending $14 milion for grass and trees?

ArlingtonNative

Because they needed to build a new green space for all the illegals to play futbol on while county re-furbs the school mudground.
Fear not, by the time the school field is back to reasonable condition, they will have destroyed the parks greenspace and will migrate back to begin destroying the school field again.